Power-transmission mechanism.



BATENTED DEC. 18, 1906.

R. SYMMONDS. POWER TRANSMISSION MECHANISM.

APPLIOATIOH FILED AIR. 9. 1904.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

dwwyw PATENTED DEC. 18, 1906.

R. SYMMONDS. POWER TRANSMISSION MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED APR 9 1904 -3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

ju /brawn No. 838,666. PATENTED DEC. 18, 1906,

R. SYMMONDS.

I POWER TRANSMISSION MECHANISM.

APPLIOATION FILED APB..9.1904.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

\ faderztor;

' M as M UNrrEn STATES ROBERT SYMMONDS, OF KENOSHA,

Wisconsin assreuon TO THOMAS s. JEFFERY, or KENOSHA, WiscoNsIN.

POWER-TRANSMISSION :IVI EOHANISIVL To a/ZZ whont it nuty concern: 'Be itknown that 1, ROBERT Sinvnuomns, a citizen of the United States,residing at Kenosha, county of Kenosha, State of Wisconsin, haveinvented a certain new and useful Improvement in Power-TransmissionMechanism; and I declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, such as will enable 'othersskilled intheart to which it ertains to make and use the same, reference eing had tothe accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates in general to powertransmission mechanism, and moreparticularly to differential gearing interposed between a motor and adriven element, whereby the latter may be rotated atvarious speeds inone direction orin a reverse direction.

It is desirable, especially in automobiles, to 1 so connect the motorwith a driven element, which in turn is operatively connected to therear axle of the automobile, that the speed and power transmitted fromthe motor may be varied at the will of the operator and that thedirection of rotation of the driven element may be reversed while themotor con tinues to run in the same direction.

The primary object of my invention is to provide transmission mechanismfor connecting a motor to a driven element, which may be readilyadjusted to inversely vary the speed and power of rotation of theelement or to reverse the direction of rotation thereof;

A further object of my invention is t oprovide a differentialtransmission mechanism which will be simplein construction, inexpensivein manufacture, and efficient in operation.

My invention, generally described, consists in a shaft rotativelyconnected to a motor, a clutch member fixed upon the shaft, a secondcooperating clutch member loosely surrounding the shaft, a sleeveloosely sur rounding the driving-shaft, a radial disk interposed betweenand rigidly secured to said sleeve and the second clutch member, one ormore stub-shafts, the ends of which are ournaled in bearings formed insaid disk and the second clutch member, a gear-wheel on said stub-shaftmeshing with a gear-wheel fixed upon the driving-shaft, a pinion on saidstubshaft meshing with a gear-wheel carried by a Specification ofLetters Patent. Application filed April 9. 1904. Serial'No 202,470.

Patented Dec. 18, 1906.

1 second sleeve loosely surrounding the first ,sleeve, a disk carried bysaid second sleeve, having lugs extending inwardly from a circularflange around its periphery, a radial ldisk rigidly secured to the firstsleeve and ,having outwardly rejecting lugs on its periphery, a third seeve loosely surrounding the second sleeve andcarrying pawls haviinginwardly and" outwardly projecting lugs adapted 'to engage. either thelugs on said flange or the lugs on said disk, a collar looselysurrounding said third sleeve and operatively connected to said pawls, ayoke surrounding said collar and adapted to frictionally engage andoscillate the same to actuate the pawls, a ,power-transmitting devicecarried by said third sleeve, and means for separately looking againstrotation said second clutch member and the disk carried by the secondsleeve.

My invention will be more fully described hereinafter with reference tothe accompanying drawings, in which the same is illustrated as embodiedin va convenient and practicalform, and in Which,

Figure 1 is acentral sectional view; Fig. 2, a sectional view on line 22, Fig. 1; Fig. 3, a sectional, viewbn line 3 3, Fig. 1; Fig. 4, asectional view'on line .44, Fig. 1, and Fig. 5, a detail sectional viewonline 55, Fig. 3.

' The same reference characters are used to designate the same parts inthe several figures of the drawings. a

' Reference characterA designates a drivingshaft, which is rotated byany suitable power connections'such, for'instance, as a directconnection with the engine of an automobile. B designates a gear-wheelfixed upon the shaft A adjacent to a fly wheel C, also fixed upon thedriving-shaft. V C indicates a clutch member rigidly carried by theshaft A and preferably formed integral with the fly-wheel O. Acooperating clutch member D concentrically"surrounds the shaft A and isprovided with a hub (1 rotatively mounted upon the hub c of'theflywheel. and D are preferably provided with conical engaging surfaces,one of which isprovided with a covering of leather or other suitablematerial to insurea tight engagementbe tween the clutches. j

The portion of the shaft A extending to the right in Fig. 1 from thegear B is preferably The cooperating clutch members C" reduced and isloosely surrounded by a sleeve T. A disk E surrounds the inner end ofthe sleeve T and is rigidly secured thereto and is also rigidly unitedto the second clutch member D by any suitable meanssuch, for instance,as bolts (1 Any suitable means may be provided for rigidly securing thedisk E to the sleeve T-such, for instance, as a tubular extension E,formed integrally with the disk E and non-rotatively secured to thesleeve T by means of a key 6. e designates a lock-ring in screw-threadedengagement with the end of the sleeve T and engaging the adjacentportion of the disk E to prevent the same from becoming disengaged fromthe sleeve T, which it surrounds.

The second clutch member and disk E serve as a carrier in the spacebetweenwhich are j ournaled one or more stub-shafts F, the opposite endsof which rotatively engage bearings formed in the opposing surfaces ofthe clutch member and disk. Each stubshaft F is provided with agear-wheel F, fixed thereon and preferably formed integral therewith,which meshes with the gear B. A pinion f is carried rigidly by eachstub-shaft F and meshes with a gear-wheel g, carried by a sleeve G,loosely surrounding the tubular portion E of the disk E. A radial disk Gis rigidly carried by the sleeve G and is provided with a circularflange extending around its outer periphery.

g desi nates lugs projecting inwardly from the circ ar flange around thedisk G.

T designates a radial disk fixed u on and preferably formed integralwith the s eeve T.

t designates lugs projecting outwardly from the periphery of the disk T.

H designates a third sleeve which loosely surrounds the portion of thesleeve T to the right of the disk T in Fig. 1.

K designates pawls carried by a disk H, rigidly secured to the sleeve H.The pawls K are interposed between the outer periphery of the disk T andthe overlying portion of the flange around the disk G. Each pawl K iscarried by a pin rotatively extending through the disk H, whileinwardly-extending arms, having slotted lower ends, are rigidly securedto the pins upon which the pawls are secured. Each pawl K is providedwith an outwardly-extending lug 7c and an inwardly-extending lug W, theformer being adapted to engage the lugs g and the latter adapted to beengaged by the lugs t Loosely surrounding the sleeve H, adjacent to thedisk H is a collar 1, provided with a groove in its periphery. Pins '11are carried by the collar I and extend within the slots formed in thelower ends of the levers it, which carry the pawls K. A yoke J surroundsthe collar I and is provided with inwardly-projecting wedges y" and F,spaced apart by an intervening recess, as clearly shown in Fig. 3. Theyoke J is fulcrumed upon a rod j and may be oscillated upwardly ordownwardly by a rod J, pivotally connected to an ear rigidly secured tothe yoke.

L designates a sprocket-wheel or other power-transmission device whichsurrounds and 1s fixed upon the sleeve H.

Z designates a key for locking the sprocketwheel upon the sleeve H. I

N designates a disk concentrically surrounding the end of the sleeve Hand secured thereto by means of a screw-threaded engagement.

n designates a locking-ring for retaining the disk N upon the end of thesleeve.

Located adjacent to and surrounding the hub of the disk N is a yoke m,to which is connected and preferably integrally formed therewith a leverM, fulcrumed upon a rod m Located within the yoke m is a lining of toughmetal M, spaced apart from the disk N to form a raceway in which arelocated ball-bearings 0.

m designates a Washer of tough metal located within theinwardly-extending radial flange of the lining M to assume the wear ofthe ball-bearings.

a designates a ring in screw-threaded engagement with the end of thesleeve T to retain the sleeve H thereon.

A collar p surrounds the shaft A, near the right thereof in Fig. 1, andis prevented from moving axially toward the right by any suitablemeanssuch, for instance, as i a collar p, fixed upon the shaft.Interposed between the collar 10 and a cooperating collar p, looselysurrounding the shaft A, are ball-bearings o. A spring P is interposedbetween the disk N and the collar p, the tension of which forces theclutch member D into engagement with the cooperating clutch member C.

A clutch-band g surrounds the circular flange carried at the peripheryof the disk G, while a similar clutch-band d surrounds a circular flangeD, carried by the movable clutch member D. Any suitable means may beprovided for causing. the clutchbands at and g to tightly grip thecircular flanges, which they surround, and thereby lock the secondclutch member and the disk G against rotation. In Fig. 2 I have shown abell-crank lever R, fulcrumed upon a rod 1", to the arms of which theends of the clutchband (Z are secured. S indicates a suitable connectionfor oscillating the bell crank lever, and thereby tightening theclutch-b and around the flange. Similar mechanism (not shown) may beprovided for actuating the clutch-band g.

The operation of my invention is as follows: The shaft A is rotatedthrough its connection with the motor, and with it rotates the fly-wheelC and gear-wheel B. hen it is desired to rotate the sprocket-wheel L atthe same speed at which the shaft A rotates,

ICC

the lever M is so actuated as to permit the spring P to expand, therebymoving the sleeve T, and with it the disk E and clutch member D, towardthe fly-wheel and forcing the clutch member D into frictional engagementwith the clutch member C. The positions of the parts above described areshown in Fig. 1. The rod J (see Fig. 3) is then actuated so as to rockthe yoke J upwardly, which causes the wedge j to engage within thegroove in the periphery of the collar I and oscillate the latter aboutthe sleeve H. Such oscillation of the collar I through the engagement ofthe pins t, carried thereby, with the slotted ends of the levers isswings inwardly the pawls K and projects the lugs k thereon into thepath of rotation of the lugs t carried by the disk T. The rotary motionof the driving-shaft A is communicated to the sprocket-wheel L throughthe engaged clutch members, the disk E, fixed to the clutch member D,the sleeve T, fixed to the disk E, the disk T, fixed upon the sleeve Tto the lugs t pawls K, disk H, carrying the pawls, and sleeve H, uponwhich the sprocket-wheel is fixed. hen it is desired to rotate thedriving mechanism, which is rotatively connected to the sprocket-wheel Lat a slower speed than that at which the driving-shaft A rotates, thelever M is oscillated about its fulcrum m so that the yoke m is movedtoward the right in Fig. 1, thereby through the interposed ball-bearingsmoving the disk N and compressing the spring P. Such movement of thelever M moves the sleeve T about the shaft A and disengages the clutchmember D from the clutch member C. The rod J is so actuated as to swingthe yoke J downwardly, causing the wedge j to engage the groove in theperiphery of the collar I and oscillate the latter downwardly, therebyswinging the pawls outwardly and locating the lugs 7c thereon in thepath of rotation of the lugs g. The rotary motion of the shaft A iscommunicated to the sprocket-wheel L at a reduced speed by the followingoperation: The clutch-band d is caused to tightly engage the circularflange D, which it surrounds, and prevent the rotation of the clutchmember D, thereby holding the carrier of the stub-shafts Fnon-rotatively about the driving-shaft and permitting such stub-shaftsto be rotated through engagement with the gear-wheel B, fixed on thedriving-shaft, with the gear-wheels F, fixed upon the stub shafts. Therotation of the stub-shafts through the engagement of the pinions fthereon with the gear-wheel g rotates the sleeve G and disk G, carriedthereby, in the direction in which the drivingshaft is rotated, but at aless speed, owing to the relative sizes of the interposed gearwheels.The rotation of the disk G is communicated to the sprocketqvheel Lthrough the interlocking of the lugs g with the lugs 7c on the pawls K,which rotatively locks the sleeve H to the disk G. When it is desired torotate the driven mechanism con nected to the sprocket-wheel L in adirection the reverse to that in which the shaft A is rotated, theclutch members are disengaged by actuating the lever M, and the disk Gis held against rotation by causing the clutch-band g to tightly engagethe peripheral flange therewith. The pawls are then oscillated, so thatthe lugs k thereon are moved inwardly into the path of movement of thelugs The sprocket-wheel is then rotated in a reverse direction in thefollowing manner: The gear-wheel g being held immovable, the rotation ofthe stub-shafts by the gear B causes the stub-shaft carrier, consistingin the clutch member D and disk E, to rotate in an opposite direction tothe rotation of the shaft A, and as the sleeve T is rigidly connected tothe disk E such' reverse rotation is communicated to the sprocket-wheelL through the engagement of the lugs t on the disk T, carried by thesleeve T, with the lugs k on the pawls.

It is obvious that the rod J may be so connected with the means fortightening the clutch-bands d and 9 that one single operation willengage the lugs k on the pawls with the lugs g and at the same timecause the clutch-band d to grip the flange D when slow speed is desired,and another single operation will so actuate the pawls as to cause thelugs k thereon to engage the lugs t and simultaneously cause theclutch-band g to hold the disk G against rotation when reverse speed isdesired.

From the foregoing description it will be observed that I have inventedan improved transmission-gearing in which the driven element may bedirectly connected to the rotating power-shaft, in which the drivenelement may also be connected to the powershaft through interposedspeed-reducing gearing, and in which the driven element may be driven ina reverse direction to that of the rotating shaft, such diflerentmovements of the driven elements being easily effected by the means of acomparatively simple mechanical structure.

I/Vhile I have described more or less precisely the details ofconstruction, I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself thereto,as I contemplate changes in form, the proportion of parts, and thesubstitution of equivalents as circumstances may suggest or renderexpedient without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Having now fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desireto secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a power-transmitting mechanism, the combination with adriving-shaft, of two concentric sleeves loosely surrounding said shaft,means interposed between said shaft and said sleeves for rotating thesleeves in opposite directions, a driven element, radial disks fixed onsaid sleeves having lugs projecting from their peripheries, a pawlcarried by the driven element, and means for oscillating said pawl intoengagement with the lugs on either of said disks.

2. In a power-transmitting mechanism, the combination with adriving-shaft, of a clutch member fixed thereon, a sleeve looselysurrounding said shaft, a cooperating clutch member carried by saidsleeve, means for moving said sleeve axially upon the shaft and therebyengaging or disengaging said clutch members, a radial disk fixed uponsaid sleeve having outwardly-projecting lugs on its periphery, a secondsleeve loosely surrounding said first sleeve and interposed between thedisk thereon and the clutch member fixed thereto, a radial disk carriedby said.

second sleeve and having inwardly-projecting peripheral lugs, mechanisminterposed between the driving-shaft and each of said sleeves forrotating the same in opposite directions, a third sleeve looselysurrounding said first sleeve, pawls carried by said third sleeveadapted to be engaged and disengaged with the peripheral lugs on eitherof said disks.

3. In a power-transmitting mechanism, the combination with a drivingelement, of a clutch member fixed thereto, a cooperating movable clutchmember, a rigidly-connected gear-wheel and pinion carried by the movableclutch member, a gear-wheel fixed to the driving element and meshingwith the gear-wheel carried by the clutch member, a radial disk rigidwith the movable clutch member, a gear-wheel in mesh with said pinion, aradial disk integral with said. last-mentioned gear-wheel, a drivenelement, means connecting said driven element to either of said disks,and means for separately locking said movable clutch member and saidsecond disk against rotation.

4. In a power-transmitting mechanism, the combination with adriving-shaft, of a clutch member fixed thereto, a cooperating clutchmember, a sleeve loosely surrounding said shaft and rigidly connected tosaid movable clutch member, a rigidlyconnected gearwheel and pinioninterposed between and carried by the movable clutch member and saidsleeve, a gear-wheel fixed to said shaft in mesh with the gear-wheelcarried by the clutch member, a radial disk rigid with said sleeve, agear-wheel in mesh with-said pinion, a radial disk rigid with saidlast-mentioned gear-wheel, a driven element, means for connecting saiddriven element to either of said disks, and means for separately lockingsaid sleeves against rotation.

5. In a power-transmitting mechanism, the combination with adriving-shaft, of a clutch member fixed thereto, a cooperating clutchmember, a sleeve loosely surrounding said shaft and rigidly connected tosaid movable clutch member, a rigidly-connected gearwheel and pinioninterposed between and carried by the movable clutch member and saidsleeve, a gear-wheel fixed to said shaft in mesh with the gear-wheelcarried by the clutch member, a radial disk rigid with said sleeve, agear-wheel in mesh with said pinion, a radial disk rigid with saidlast-mentioned gear-wheel, a driven sleeve loosely surround ing saidfirst sleeve, means connecting said driven sleeve with either of saiddisks, and means for separately locking said disks against rotation.

6. In a power-transmitting mechanism,

the combination with a driving-shaft, of a I clutch member fixedthereto, a cooperating clutch member, a sleeve loosely surrounding saidshaft and rigidly connected to said movable clutch member, arigidly-connected gearwheel and pinion interposed between and carried bythe movable clutch member and said sleeve, a gear-wheel fixed to saidshaft in mesh with the gear-wheel carried by the clutch member, a radialdisk rigid with said sleeve, a gear-wheel in mesh with said pinion, aradial disk rigid with said last-mentioned gear-wheel, a driven sleeveloosely surrounding said first sleeve, pawls carried by said drivensleeve, means for actuating said pawls to engage either of said disks,and means for separately locking said disks against rotation.

7. In a power-transmitting mechanism, the combination with adriving-shaft, of a clutch member fixed thereto, acooperating clutchmember, a sleeve loosely surrounding said shaft and rigidly connected tosaid movable clutch member, a rigidly-oonnected gearwheel and pinioninterposed between and carried by the movableclutch member and saidsleeve, a gear-wheel fixed to said shaft in mesh with the gear-wheelcarried by the clutch member, a radial disk rigid with said sleeve, agear-wheel in mesh with said pinion, a radial disk rigid with saidlast-mentioned gear-wheel, a driven sleeve loosely surrounding saidfirst sleeve, pawls carried by said driven sleeve, a collar looselysurrounding said driven sleeve operatively connected to said pawls,means for oscillating said collar around said driven sleeve and therebyengaging or disengaging said pawls with said disks, and means forseparately locking said disks against rotation.

8. In a power-transmitting mechanism, the combination with adrivingshaft, of a clutch member fixed thereto, a cooperating clutchmember, a sleeve loosely surrounding said shaft and rigidly connected'tosaid movable clutch member, a rigidly-connected gearwheel and pinioninterposed between and carried by the movable clutch member and IIO thesame to frictionally engage and oscillate in mesh with the gear-Wheelcarried by the said collar thereby actuating the pawls to clutch member,a radial disk rigid with said engage either of said disks, and means for15 sleeve, a gear-wheel in mesh with said pinseparately locking saiddisks against rotaion, a radial disk rigid with said last-mention.tioned gear-wheel, a driven sleeve loosely In testimony whereof I signthis specificaiurroundilng said1 first sleeviwl, pziwls carried tion inthe presence of two witnesses.

y said (riven s eeve, a co ar oosey surrounding said driven sleeveoperatively con- ROBERT SYMMONDS' Io nected to said pawls, a yokesurrounding l lVitnesses:

said collar but normally disengaged there- H. W. JEFFERY, from, meansfor moving said yoke to cause G. H. EDDY.

said sleeve, a gear-Wheel fixed to said shaft

